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Wednesday, August 6, 2014

A Show of Force

The scene became chaotic with demons teleporting into our little
knot of defenders from every direction.
Some had also opted to charge on foot.
In seconds, we were enveloped in a swarm of enemies. Talamur dropped me onto what remained of the
charred gymnasium floor so that he could fight back. I couldn’t blame him, considering that I was
almost literally dead weight. I curled
up into a ball and focused on three things—not getting trampled, not getting
stabbed, and healing my shoulder so I could get my strength back.

A new sound began building in the midst of the cries and grunts of
battle. It was a low thrumming that I
could feel vibrating in my internal organs.
I glanced toward Salabas, who inexplicably seemed to be the source of
the sound. His sombrero was torn and his
robe was spattered with blood, but he was in a state of intense
concentration. The thrumming grew even
louder and the air around him began to shimmer.
When he opened his eyes and lifted his head, he practically exploded.

Stretching his arms violently out to his sides, the angel sprouted
numerous narrow beams of brilliant yellow light from his palms. By some unknown targeting system, each beam
rocketed directly toward various demons’ chests, burning clean, fist-sized
holes through their hearts. In one extraordinary
and terrifying moment, roughly twenty of our assailants collapsed. As advertised, Salabas had taken twenty of
them on by himself.

Demoralized, the demons fell back, but not far. We remained surrounded and they remained vigilant. Azraal was still alive, but I’d spotted his
apparent second-in-command, Kezin, on the ground with a tunnel through his
torso.

“That was fantastic!” Sylnie enthused, staring at Salabas in
awe. “Can you teach me how to do that?”

“My apologies, ma’am,” he replied with a sympathetic grin. “But I do believe that kind of thing is
exclusively found in an angel’s skill set.”
He heaved a heavy sigh, giving the impression that his unparalleled
badassery had taken a lot out of him.

“Are they dead?” Jaelin said oddly. While she sounded impressed with Salabas’s
display, she was probably just as concerned that his destructive capabilities
could be turned on her.

I could see the demons on the ground next to me start to
squirm. One of them was already patching
up the gaping hole in his chest.